Foreign Policy Blogs

Dictionary of Thoughts

From Reuters

This Saturday will mark the launch of a puzzling (and oddly intriguing) book, El Diccionario de Pensamientos de Fidel Castro—that is, the “Dictionary of Thoughts of Fidel Castro.” How does one alphabetize thoughts? The Cuban state newspaper Granma reported that the volume alphabetizes “key criteria and concepts expressed by the Commander-in-Chief” and provides helpful detail on these.

The better question might be: how long is the volume? Fidel is known for having made impressively long speeches; he sometimes improvised marathon speeches for four to five solid hours. Of course, he still publishes opinion-type pieces regularly in Granma, so he has been adding a barrage of material for years to the body of “criteria and concepts” that might be included in the Diccionario.

 

Author

Melissa Lockhart Fortner

Melissa Lockhart Fortner is Senior External Affairs Officer at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, having served previously as Senior Programs Officer for the Council. From 2007-2009, she held a research position at the University of Southern California (USC) School of International Relations, where she closely followed economic and political developments in Mexico and in Cuba, and analyzed broader Latin American trends. Her research considered the rise and relative successes of Latin American multinationals (multilatinas); economic, social and political changes in Central America since the civil wars in the region; and Wal-Mart’s role in Latin America, among other topics. Melissa is a graduate of Pomona College, and currently resides in Pasadena, California, with her husband, Jeff Fortner.

Follow her on Twitter @LockhartFortner.